No Comment:

Hello all; I have been debating for some time about shutting down the ability to comment on my blog.

It is somewhat about the spam and ping-backs, though WordPress does an excellent job of preventing that sort of nonsense.

I won’t bore you with the whole ‘my blog was taken down’ by a virus story again.

One issue has a bit to do with my inability to reply in a timely fashion and being unable to make the rounds to interact and comment on my favorite blogs. I love the feedback, sometimes crave the feedback; sometimes go out searching for my next “feedback” fix.

Unfortunately my hand surgery (in August) + fracture (Christmas Eve) on my dominant hand limits the amount of time I can spend on line. I found sitting at the computer that I was constantly repositioning my shoulder so as not to lean on surgery arm. When I am able to reply or comment with my left hand it more often then not looks like this: “shruk lsg shsju 9ueqf” which took time to clean up the type-os. Needless to say – creating posts took hours or days. More often then not I will toss a blog post in progress as it seems out of date by the time I get finished.

Instead I spent the better part of my last two years hanging out on my Pinterest account seeking creative mojo.

I feel I have gotten off track creatively and lost my voice. I found that rather then being guided internally I began to create what I thought commentors/viewers/purchasers wanted to see. I inevitably blocked myself. Unsatisfied; I would try to guess once again and change my creative direction trying to please everyone. Not only did my art suffer; but my blog posts as well. I realized I could not concentrate while worrying: “I can’t say that/show that; what would people think… what if they misunderstand??!”

I have decided I need to refocus beginning with my blogging theme: Ascender Rises Above. I am constantly asked what that means. What I am rising above? What certain pieces of art mean? I believe I will be better able to provide those answers and recenter my creative and personal voice with comments turned off. (Do you hear my knees knocking?)

It’s time to return to spending the majority of my day creating.

It’s time to return again to my upcoming illustrated novel.

This blog will be turning mostly into a gallery of available works.

As for the interactive nature of this blog; I can still be reached through my contact page or AscenderRisesAbove{@}gmail{.}com (take out the brackets). If you are old fashioned the snail mail is provided on that page as well. I find myself more likely to reply quickly on my facebook page – simply request to be a friend. My facebook fans page is currently open where I post what’s on my desk and alerts to those interested in viewing my art exhibits, workshops and upcoming publications.